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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — a country
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spell — magic
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spell — a short time
  21. land — ground
  22. chest — of your body
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com